Front view Brotherhood Cemetery at Vera Slutskaya Kolpino

Kolpino (russian: Ко́лпино; fi, Kolpina, ') is a municipal city in Kolpinsky District of the

federal city The term federal city is a title for certain cities in Germany, Switzerland, and Russia. Germany In Germany, the former West German capital Bonn has been designated with the unique title of federal city (''Bundesstadt''). Since 28 April 1994, it ...

of St. Petersburg,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, located on the

Izhora River The Izhora (, ), also known as the Inger, is a left tributary of the Neva on its run through Ingria in northwestern Russia from Lake Ladoga to Gulf of Finland. The Izhora flows through Gatchinsky and Tosnensky Districts of Leningrad Oblast as wel ...

(

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

of the Neva) southeast of St. Petersburg proper. Population: 81,000 (1972); 8,076 (1897).

History

Kolpino was founded in 1722 and was granted town status in 1912. It was one of the chief ironworks of the crown in Russia. Kolpino was also home to an

iron Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...

foundry of the Russian Admiralty. A sacred image of St. Nicholas in the Trinity Church is visited by numerous

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of ...

s on May 22 every year. With the onset of the Great Patriotic War, Kolpino factory workers formed Izhora Battalion, part of the militia, August 24 – September 4, 1941. The front line was held in the immediate vicinity of the plant, which was subjected to heavy enemy shelling. By 1944, only 327 of Kolpino's 2183 houses remained intact. 140,939 shells and 436 aerial bombs fell in Kolpino's neighborhoods and boulevards. According to incomplete data for the war, shelling and starvation in the Kolpino district killed 4,600 people, not counting the dead on the front. By January 1, 1944 Kolpino had only 2196 inhabitants. After the lifting of the siege, people gradually came back from the evacuation and from the army. On January 1, 1945 population was 7404, the beginning of next year – 8914 people. During the construction of a new residential building, a mass grave was discovered in Kolpino. 888 soldiers and officers of the Red Army were buried in the mass grave in that cemetery. They fell in September 1941.

Economy and transportation

Many people of Kolpino work at Izhorian Plant. Kolpino District also contains tens of other plants.

Kolpino railway station Kolpino railway station ( rus, станция Колпино) is a railway station located in self-named city, Kolpinsky District of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is 24 km down-line from Moskovsky railway station and is situated between Sa ...

is operable since 1847.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Kolpino is twinned with: *

Druskininkai Druskininkai (; pl, Druskieniki; be, Друскенiкi; yi, דרוזגעניק, translit=Druzgenik) is a spa town on the Nemunas River in southern Lithuania, close to the borders of Belarus and Poland. The city of Druskininkai has a population ...

, Lithuania *

Huai'an Huai'an (), formerly called Huaiyin () until 2001, is a prefecture-level city in the central part of Jiangsu province in East China, Eastern China. Huai'an is situated almost directly south of Lianyungang, southeast of Suqian, northwest of Yan ...

, China * Rauma,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

References

External links

Website of Kolpino
{{Authority control Tsarskoselsky Uyezd Kolpinsky District 1722 establishments in the Russian Empire